Apparatus for raising gravel from ground level to roof level



K. C. KELLY Aug. 20, 1957 APPARATUS FOR RAISING GRAVEL FROM GROUND LEVEL TO ROOF LEVEL Filed Feb. 25, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet l MM R E.

$5 5 3 n H. a.

' INVENTOR. mwmzt Clfell A TTO ug- 0, 1957 K. c. KELLY 2,803,501

APPARATUS FOR RAISING GRAVEL FROM GROUND LEVEL TO ROOF LEVEL 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 25, 1954 INVENTOR. w g w A 522; I

Aug. 20, 1957 4 K. c. KELLY 2,803,501

APPARATUS FOR RAISING GRAVEL FROM GROUND LEVEL TO ROOF LEVEL Filed Feb. 25, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I j I Y a? g Q Q 88 w a a 2 1Q w L Lq a x k w ///A MAAE i Lq INVENTOR.

United States Patent@ l APPARATUS FOR RAISING GRAVEL FROM GROUND LEVEL T O ROOF LEVEL Kennett C. Kelly, Burlingame, Calif.

Application February 25, 1954, Serial No. 412,477

1 Claim. (Cl. 302-17) This invention relates to improvements in an apparatus for picking up material and for discharging the same from one point to another, either adjacent to or remote from the pick-up location.

One of the objects of the invention is to employ a portable trailer that can be transported to a position in proximity to a building where gravel or the like has been stored for ready transfer by the mechanism of the trailer and associated parts connected to the mechanism, to a remote elevated position, such as the roof of a building when the roof is to betreated by the gravel.

Further objects of the invention are to associate with the. apparatus a novel air cleaner for cleaning the air going into a vacuum pump driven by an internal combustion engineof the apparatus, means for transferring the gravel. or the like to elevate the same, adjustable means in the material tube conveyer to compensate for lengths of tubes used for different elevations of buildings, a novel arrangement of the material receptacle which latter receives, therein, the elevated materials for subsequently spreading the same on the roof, and a novel trip relief valve that is employed in the invention.

The invention further consists in the particular combination, construction and association of the difierent parts such as described in the following specifications and possesses various other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing will be made manifest in the following description.

In the accompanying drawings wherein for the purpose of illustration like numerals designate like parts throughout the same.

Fig, 1 is a side elevational assembly view of the entire combination of devices and parts embodied in the invention, disclosing to advantage how gravel is conveyed from the ground level beneath a building to the roof of the same,

Fig. 1a is a bracketed view of a hand adjustable air vent,

Fig. 2 is a vertical side elevational view of the air cleaner per se,

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2, looking in direction of the arrows,

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the portable receptacle head,

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the air cleaner,

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the head, the view being taken on line 66 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 7 is a side elevational View partly in section of the trip relief valve of the invention, and

Fig. 8 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation of the connecting means of the sectional air and material tubes that is employed in the invention.

Referring in detail to the drawings wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout the various views, the numeral 9 designates a trailer that is equipped with an internal combustion engine 10, suitable vacuum pump 11, and an air cleaner 12 that is connected to the vacuum pump by a suitable pipe line 13, a vacuum relief valve 14 is employed in the pipe line and an adjustable vacuum diaphragm 15 is employed between the engine and the 5 2,803,501 Patented Aug. 20, 1957 ice lower section of the air cleaner to obtain an engine speed up. A flexible hose 16 is connected at its lower end to an angular end pipe 17 of the air cleaner and in turn is connected to tubing 17' and is adapted to extend over the roof line 18 of the side wall 19-of a building structure.

The numeral 20 designates the gravel or like materials that is to be raised from its accumulated mass position and condition from the streetlevel 21 or any suitable depository for the materials. The material inlet or pickup tube is indicated by the numeral 22 and is joined to a tube 22' of a smaller diameter by a sliding action. A parapet hook 23, is welded to the tubes 22' and 17 and extends over the top of the side wall of the building for retaining said tube in a fixed position. The numeral 24 designates the lower portion of a material receiving receptacle that is provided with a detachable head or cover 25. The numeral 26 designates a buggy that can be utilized to transfer the gravel receptacle 24 from one location to another location on the root level. It will be noted that the upper end of the tube or material line 22 passes through the head 25 and continues into the receptacle 24 (see Fig. 6).

A trip relief valve A is positioned in the head 25 for controlling the flow of air through the line 17 and functions to open the line to slow down the engine. The detail construction of said valve will be hereinafter explained. The air cleaner of the invention comprises a substantially cylindrical casing consisting of an upper portion 26 that is connected to the pipe line 13, and a bottom portion 27 that carries the casing end pipe 17. The two flanges 28 of the sections are bolted together as at 29. Interposed between the flanges is a gasket 30 to thus assure an airtight and leak-proof connection between the sections.

To provide for a cleaning of the air passing through the line 17 to the vacuum blower 11, filters, 31 and 32 are utilized in the cleaner. The filter 31 is preferably a permanent one,- while the filter 32 is removable. I have found this arrangement most advantageous to thus assure a positive cleaning to the air prior to its induction into the vacuum pump. I have found it most expedient to employ fiexible joints in the lines 17' and 22' inorder that the said lines may have the desired degree of freedom of movement in positioningthe lines relative to the head of the material receptacle. Suitable welds are employed as at 33 to secure the metal portions of the lines to the receptacle head. In said head, as illustrated to advantage as in Figs. 4 and 6, a rubber covered steel ring 34 is utilized. and is carried by the said head. The central opening 35 insaid ring permits the passage therethrough of the pouring end of the gravel pickup pipe line 22'. In order that the gravel or like material can be readily conveyed to the confines of the bucket or receptacle, a wire mesh screen 36, impregnated with fibre glass is spaced from the top of the ring 34 and is interposed between it and the top of the head. A suitable opening 37 is employed in said screen for the passage therethrough of the pick-up tube 22'.

A conventional air vent 38 is utilized in the pick-up tube to eliminate any danger of clogging of the material as it is being elevated by suction or vacuum.

Referring to the trip relief valve illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawing the said valve embodies in its construction a housing 39 that is externally threaded as at 40 and that is adapted to be seated on a base plate 41 in turn threadedly secured to an extension 42 of a valve stem 43 that is equipped with a handle 44. A lock nut 45 functions to retain the extension in locking relationship with the plate 41. A brace 46 serves to secure the flanges 47 of the housing to a collar 48.

A sleeve 49 extends at right angles to the collar 48 and is suitably welded thereto. This sleeve has mounted the threaded stem 54 of a control handle 55. be noted that the said stem has provided therein, a

therein a block 50 to which is connected a pivotally mounted roller 51. An apertured cap 52 closes the outer end of the sleeve and between said block and cap there is interposed a coil spring 53 adapted to be actuated by It will curved slot 56 that terminates at its lower end in-a nose 57 and continues downwardly therefrom to provide a rounded recess 58 in which is received the roller 51.

To compensate for varying lengths of the tubes 17' and the pick-up tubes 22, when gravel is to be conveyed tothe buildings of varying heights, I have provided .a

structure'readily adaptable for securingtwopipe sections together, as illustrated to'advantage in Fig. 8. ,In this view of the drawing the numeral 59indicates a circumferential sleeve that is welded as at 69 to one section B of the metallic pipe and encompasses the adjacent section C and is slidably movable over the latter.

The said sleevehas an annular upper groove 61 provided therein and terminates at'its lower extremity in a circumferential outwardly extending flange 62. A pair of oppositely disposed links 63 are welded at their inner ends to said sleeve and are pivotally connected at their opposite ends to vertically extending operating handles 64. A notch65 is formed in each handle and cooperates with the groove 61 to house or retain a spring 66 between the groove and the handle notch. v

A loose fitting ring 67 surrounds the pipe section B,

while a second ring 68 is fixedly secured to the outer periphery of the pipe section C.

Between the flanges 62 and the ring 68 there is interposed a gasket 69. It will be noted that each handle is equipped at its lower end with a nose 70 adapted to underlie the ring 68. 'It will be obvious that the movable ring 67 will retain the handles in the fixed position of Fig. 8. When it is desired to operate the handles to unlock the pipe sections, it is only necessary to squeeze the free ends of the handles and the sections B and C can be readily detached, each from the other.

Diir'erent elevations of buildings require difierent vent action in the venting of pick-up pipe to manually control the amount of material picked up by the tube 22' and i to vent the pipe, I have provided the air vent 38. This vent is formed in the pipe 22. A sliding cover 71 is positioned over the vent, the cover being secured to the pipe by a wing nut 72.

In the operation of my system of picking up the materials 20 to elevate or transfer the same from one point to another, the pick-up tube is first placed in the material. The engine is then started and the trip valve A is closed. The machine is now working. After the container or receptacle 24 is fullthe pick-up tube becomes closed with the material, the vacuum is created to raise to a point to trip the trip valve to an open position. All

vacuum is then lost and the diaphragm 15 is returned to its normal position, which action closes the throttle valve to thus idle the engine.

To then start the machine, the portable head is changed from the receptacle to another container. The trip valve is closed by hand and the vacuum raises and operates the diaphragm, thus speeding up engine to proper working speed.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a pre ferred example of the same and that various changes relative to the shape, size, material and arrangement of parts may be readily resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described my invention I claim:

In combination with a wheeled trailer that has supported thereon, a vacuum pump, an engine for driving the pump, and an air cleaner in line with the pump, and an adjustable vacuum diaphragm between the engine and the lower portion of the air cleaner and being connected to the auxiliary butterfly valve of the engine carburetor for speedingup the engine, and wherein air is used as a carrier for granular material to be picked up at one 10- cation and discharged at another location, the air-conveying means comprising a combination flexible and rigid tubing connected at one end to the air'cleaner, the pick-up means comprising a combination rigid and flexible. tubing in substantial alignment. with the. air conveying tubing, the lower open end of the rigid portion of the latter tubing adapted to be immersed in the granular material, a receptacle positioned at a remote point from the pick-up location and adapted to receive in the receptacle the granular material for distribution on a surface to be treated by the material, the opposite end of both the pick-up tubing and the air conveying tubing being connected to said receptacle, a portable head detachably secured to the receptacle, and a manually operable relief valve carried by said head, and means associated with the air conveying means and the pick-up tubing to compensate for lengths of tubes used for different elevations of buildings when the granular material is elevated from a lower location to a higher location.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,647,817 Roberts Nov. 1, 1927 1,772,881 Tolman Aug. 12, 1930 1,926,433 Cartmell Sept. 12, 1933 2,514,333 Mylting July 4, 1950 2,554,583 McFall May 29, 1951 2,646,316 Kollgaard July 21, 1953 

